Credit to Studio

Studio was a slightly more upmarket set produced in the 90s by the company that released the various DonRuss and Leaf branded sets. (Sometimes the copyright notices are for DonRuss; sometimes they are for Leaf - it's all over the place!) In later years Studio fluctuated between being Leaf Studio and DonRuss Studio, but before that they were just 'Studio'. 

Card Number 756: Studio, 1995; #25

Previous Studio sets had been portrait photos taken in a Studio. The photography cost must have been reasonably high for those sets. In 1995 they opted for a very different design. Each player in the 200 card set was featured on a "credit card" template, that included embossed statistics in the middle. As luck would have it, the timing of this means that Tony's card includes his most famous batting average. 

The photo is still interesting though, as it's a rare picture of Tony wearing glasses (that aren't sunglasses). 

There's a 'signature' on the back, just like a real credit card. 

There were 7 cards in each pack and every one of them had a 'plastic' card alongside six of the ordinary cardboard base cards. The plastic cards were gold or the much rarer platinum. The colour scheme was presuambly chosen to mimic the colours of different classes of credit cards.

Card Number 757: Studio Gold, 1995; #25

Even the hologram is gold! The plastic has rounded edges like a credit card. It is about the same thickness and the embossed details are quite prominent.

Only 50 players were selected for the gold card treatment. (That number dropped to 25 for the platinum series).

These cards still feel quite different, over 25 years after they were released. This was the last time the range was relased just as 'Studio' and the set went back to using posed portraits in subsequent years (blogged here), so maybe this innovative approach didn't appeal to collectors. However, I think the set designers deserve some credit for trying something new and unique with this set.

Total: 757 cards

Milestones and Masterstrokes

In the grand tradition of Sesame Street, today's blog post is brought to you by the letter M.

Card Number 593: Topps Milestones, 1998; #MS6

A beautiful blue holofoil insert card from Topps.

There are a few similarities here with a Pinnacle card I blogged yesterday - same year, same blue holofoil and clouds design, and on the back a reference to how close Tony was to his 3000th hit.

Tony didn't get a ninth batting title and finished his career tied with Honus Wagner on 8 National League titles. 

Card Number 594: Leaf Studio Masterstrokes, 1996; #1

There were 8 cards in this insert series, printed on canvas effect card with the images put through the 'paint effect' feature of Photoshop.

Studio cards were released by the DonRuss company under just the name 'Studio' for a while, before being released as Leaf Studio for a couple of years, and then finally as DonRuss Studio. Tracking the use of the brand name shows how the company was positioning its premium brands. 

On the back there is another reference to Honus Wagner. In 1996, Tony was yet to catch him up.

At the bottom of the cardback is the serial numbering. This is number 701 out of 5,000. While that's only half the number of limited edition serial numbered Diamond Kings cards from the same year, it's still a high number of cards to consider a 'limited edition'.

The paintbrush and blob of blue paint confused me at first glance. I thought Tony was flipping away a bat. It's a nod to the idea of brush strokes on a masterpiece painting. It feels like by the mid-90s card companies were running out of words to use on insert series. Leaf chose Masterstrokes, even though that doesn't really mean anything to do with art or painting. 

Total: 594 cards

Tuesday Twins - is it DonRuss or not?

A couple of 'twins' to show today, that illustrate how the boundaries between DonRuss and Leaf were blurred.

DonRuss's 1988 set is ubiquitous in 'lots' of cards from the 80s. It is possibly the junkiest of 'junk wax' sets. But just in case you can't remember what it looks like, here is Tony's base card from 1988.

Recently another version of this card tipped up in a joblot.

Card Number 380: Leaf, 1988; #90

Exact same card, but with a different manufacturer's logo and the frame reversed. 

On the back, we have a bit more of a clue as to what is going on. The card is bilingual in English and French, meaning it was sold in Canada. (Well, it's sort of bilingual - this wouldn't pass muster in Wales in terms of meeting the legal requirements for bilingualism. And,yes, I know the main reason for that is that it's in English and French not English and Welsh!)

The main things to notice are the lower set number and the changes to the career highlights. For comparison, here is the DonRuss cardback.

They basically dropped the last highlight so they could fit in the French translation. There were 264 cards in the Leaf release, compared to 660 in the DonRuss version, hence the renumbering.

Fast-forward a few years and Leaf and DonRuss took turns in claiming the "Studio" brand. In 1997 when it was issued as DonRuss Studio. Tony's card looked like this:

(I blogged about this back in July) Well, as was often the case back in the 90s, cards like this had parallel version released as well. 

Card Number 381: DonRuss Studio Silver Press Proof, 1997; #124

There are shiny silver foil tramlines down either side of the card, and the other lettering is picked out in silver too.

The back is exactly the same as the regular release. 

As I noted previously about this card, his entire career in baseball to this point (6 batting titles, 1 world series, 5 gold gloves, the modern record for batting average) is summarised in one throwaway line at the end of the paragraph. I've also just noticed that this could be a recent Panini-era DonRuss card photo as there are no easily recognisable club logos anywhere.

This card looks nice sat next to the regular base card. There were also gold press proofs as well, but they were harder cards to find. The set of three would look pretty sweet.

Total: 381/394

Return to the Studio

I like the Studio range of cards. Here are three more of them, showing an interesting evolution in who owned the studio!

Card Number 209: Studio. 1994; #132

Tony is sitting in the clubhouse here. Or so we presume. But if that's his shirt in the background, what shirt is he wearing? Also, can't the club afford something better than a ratty old wire coathanger to hang the shirts on?

The back claims Tony wintered in Poway, California. That may have been the case in 1994, but I think even then he had got into the habit of spending the winters in Indianapolis, where his wife owned a recording studio. He had season tickets to watch the Indiana Pacers, and used to enjoy going to watch them play in a town where nobody recognised him. He even engaged in a publicity drive for the WBNA team that became the Indiana Fever, buying the 3000th season ticket for the women's team shortly after hitting his 3000th hit.

This card was produced by DonRuss and they have laid out his career stats really nicely here. I appreciate informative graphics and these are easy to read and capture the essential information about the player.

[In 1995 Studio produced a range of cards that looked like credit cards. At some point I will create a wants list and Tony's Studio 1995 card will be on it!]

Card Number 210: Leaf Studio, 1996; #145

The Studio range was branded as a Leaf product in 1996. Leaf was now part of DonRuss. Tony has a bit of salt and pepper stubble in the portrait photo on the front, and an odd expression in the inset.

I like how the O in "Studio" is used as a cameo inset on the cardback.

This looks like a four photo card, but the cameo is the same photo that was used on the front. The factoid is about Tony's college basketball achievements. He is still, in 2020, the all-time San Diego State record-holder for assists.

Card Number 211: DonRuss Studio, 1997; #124

DonRuss took the Studio range back from Leaf in 1997. This is a very stylish card. It's a lovely portrait photo and the silver stripes look classy.

The cardback is still all about Tony's college career and his drafting by both the NBA Clippers and the MLB Padres. His entire subsequent career is summed up as "The rest is baseball history."

DonRuss was actually part of the Pinnacle empire by now, although there is no mention of that on this card. A Studio set was produced in 1998 before the range went on hiatus until a set was released bearing the name in 2005. Studio is yet to return since DonRuss and associated brands have been acquired by Panini, which is a shame, because these cards with their portraits and interesting card backs are something different and have great appeal.

Total: 211/394

From the Studio

Studio was a range put out by Leaf for a few years in the early 90s. The format was simple - proper portraits of players, as if they had visited a photographer's studio, and cardbacks that were more than just stats. They were Leaf's attempt to enter the 'premium market' similar to Topps launching Stadium Club. I think they were better personally.

Card Number 73: Studio '91; #245

This series of Studio cards are the ones most likely to appear in job lots of 'junk wax'. The purple borders and yellow set name contrast nicely with the black and white photo.

Loads of detail on the back, including details of his family. There's quite a bit of the standard statting beloved of baseball cardback factoid compilers.

The 'hobbies' bit is more interesting. Jerald Clark, his team-mate at the Padres for a couple of years noted that Tony was annoyingly good at both tennis and fishing, although his casting was a bit wayward and he lost at least one lure that he hadn't tied on properly.

Although it says on this cardback that Tony liked to watch the Lakers and San Diego State Basketball, the team he had a season ticket for were the Indiana Pacers because he and his wife used to stay in Indianapolis during the winter. He never lost his love for basketball and he used to enjoy watching the Pacers because very few people there knew who he was.

Card Number 74: Studio '92; #104

I'm not as keen on the gold frame and the action shot background makes the card look a bit messy (to my eyes, anyway).

Not much difference in the family details, or the baseball stats. His record against different pitchers is new though. Looks like he had figured out John Smoltz. I hadn't heard of Frank Dipino, but Baseball Reference reveals he had a 12 year career with six different teams, the main three being the Astros, the Cubs and the Cardinals. It doesn't look like Tony came up against him very often, only 19 innings, and that might explain his low average against him. Tony pioneered the use of video replays to analyse his own performance and no doubt would have looked at his at bats aginst DiPino and worked out how to hit his pitches before long.

In the 'Up Close' section it notes that Tony's favourite book was The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams. Tony apparently re-read this book several times a year. Shortly after this card was printed, Tony got to meet Ted and get some advice that turned around his batting figures and powered him to a further four batting titles. (His fondness for Mel Gibson hasn't aged well, considering Gibson's later antics.)

Card Number 75: Studio '93; #100

This is a much better backdrop for the photo. The signature is printed as part of the card design. (I don't have an autographed card in the collection yet.)

On the back we get a photo for the first time in the Studio range. we also learn who his favourite sports commentators are, who his favourite player as a kid was, and that his most prized possession was a signed basketball.

Tony says his alternative career would have been teaching. He used to visit a lot of schools and talk to kids about life and baseball in an 'inspirational speaker' role. Several people who knew him commented on how he used to love talking to young people and finding out what they thought about things.

I'm not so sure about the 'loves to face' / 'hates to face' section - these are just the teams he did best and worst against. Even then his average against the worst team was just a smidge below .300. It's not as if any club's pitching staff had got him figured out.

That's the rundown of the Studio cards in my collection.

Total: 75/394